Perspective

Award-winning filmmaker Cécile Allegra joins us on Perspective to tell us about her new feature, "Songs of the Living". It tells the story of a group of migrants, or survivors as she prefers to call them, as they try to settle in the Aveyron region of France. These survivors are people who have escaped torture in Libyan camps, and are now being helped by her own French charity Limbo, the brothers of the local monastery and the people of the town. Together, they use music to try to bring some semblance of calm to the lives of those who have experienced hell on Earth.

When Chowra Makaremi came to France from Iran as a child, she had to leave her mother behind. Several years later, in 1988, her jailed mother was one of thousands killed in mass executions. Now an anthropologist, Marakemi explains that the Iranian regime has long used state violence for control, setting up a sort of "contract" to keep society within their "red lines". She says the current protests, which began four months ago following the death of Mahsa Amini, are a sign that Iranians are no longer accepting the regime's "game of terror".

With over a million refugees and more than 200,000 asylum seekers, Germany is Europe's largest host country for those in search of refuge abroad. Our Perspective guest is one of last year's winners of the prestigious Global Citizen Prize, awarded for her work with female refugees in Germany, Greece and Syria. Anuscheh Amir-Khalili is an German-Iranian activist and co-founder of the social startup Band of Sisters.

The luckiest generations witness at least one major milestone in space exploration. For baby boomers, it was the first Moon landing. But what about our generation? Since it sent its first images in July of last year, the James Webb Space Telescope has given the world an unprecedented look deep into the universe, reawakening curiosity about life beyond our planet. Nathalie Cabrol, an astrobiologist and researcher at the SETI Institute in California, has built her career on exploring the origins and future of life on Earth and elsewhere. She joined us for Perspective.

Exact numbers are difficult to verify, but hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled the country since the start of the war in Ukraine. The reasons vary, while some wanted to escape the mobilisation order, others chose exile over a rising crackdown on dissent. For journalist Taisia Bekbulatova, being labeled a "foreign agent" ultimately led her to escape to Georgia months before the war turned independent journalism into an impossible mission. She joins us on Perspective.

From the outset of the Russian invasion, one of Ukraine's key concerns was that its Western allies would eventually feel war fatigue. But nearly a year into the conflict, there's no sign of slowed support for Kyiv. Several Western nations announced a new wave of military aid this week. But what about support for the Kremlin? Who are its allies and what form does their support take? For more, Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, joined us on Perspective.

Aid groups are warning of a dire situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban's banning of female NGO workers. Many major international aid groups have suspended their operations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). We spoke to the NRC's Afghanistan director, Neil Turner, who said that organisations like his need female employees in order to access the women they serve. He called on the Taliban to live up to their promises, and warned that if the ban is not reversed the effects will be devastating, with millions losing access to food, safe drinking water and vital protection services. "This is a red line for us. We will not resume [our operations] without our female employees," he told us in Perspective.

A woman who is leading what is quickly becoming a worldwide campaign to stop sexual violence has told FRANCE 24 why she believes consent education in schools is the best way to drastically reduce the problem. Chanel Contos was sexually assaulted at just 13 years old and at the time didn't even realise that what happened to her was wrong. She says that sexual violence had become part of the local culture. Today, she is behind the "Teach Us consent" movement in Australia that has ensured sexual consent is taught in schools there. The movement also spurred the "Everyone's Invited" campaign in the UK and is now spreading elsewhere as well. She joined us for Perspective.

French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is meeting the major players involved in, or largely opposed to, the government's pension reform plans. The reform is set to be the big political battle of the next six months, with President Emmanuel Macron promising to push it through before the summer. But the plans face considerable opposition, particularly from France's powerful unions, with protests expected. In Perspective, we speak to Bruno Cautrès of CEVIPOF, the political research wing of Sciences Po university. He says "there is no support in the population for the pension reform", adding that Macron has not explained the "social philosophy" of the reform and that "it can't be just a budgetary issue".

Between left-wing leader Lula returning to power and the death of football legend Pelé, it's been a hugely significant New Year for Brazil. Marieke Riethof, a senior lecturer in Latin American Politics at the University of Liverpool, joined us for Perspective to give some insight into this new chapter. Riethof says the two events will positively shape Brazil for many, with Lula's inauguration representing a promise of economic and social recovery, while mourning for Pelé helps unite the country. However, she notes that Brazil remains highly polarised and at risk of political violence – divisions that former president Jair Bolsonaro will benefit from as he plots his expected political comeback.